Acadia Parish Sheriff Wayne Melancon is identifying the pilot in Tuesday’s crash as 32 year old Jed Lucas Toups of Heinen Road in Basile. According to Melancon the investigation will be turned over to FAA later today.Shortly after 12:30 pm on Tuesday, a call came into Acadian Ambulance of a crop duster that crashed in Acadia Parish in the 300 block of Unatex Rd located behind Tanmoore Construction.
The duster, an Airtractor model plane, was fertilizing the field when it hit trees, caught fire, and landed 400-500 feet away from the field. A coroner arrived to the scene shortly before 3:00 pm and will release a name late in the evening. So far, News 10 has confirmation that duster was being flown by a 32-year-old male.
Emergency crews will remain on scene throughout Tuesday night until the Federal Aviation Administration arrives when they will take over the investigation.
